All posts filed under: Photography

Busena Terrace Resort

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Last month I was updating the Okinawa chapter of a Japan travel guide. This meant I had to drop by numerous hotels to check the quality of the rooms, prices, amenities etc. I saved the best till last, and last week I toured the facilities at the Busena Terrace Resort. The location is great, the beach lovely, rooms are luxurious and yet understated, and the service impeccable. The reality is that it is also a little outside my budget (rooms range from  42,735 to 577,500 a night). Although I’ve been on Okinawa for 10 years, I’d never visited the resort. Somehow I’d presumed they wouldn’t allow non-guests into the complex. However, you can enjoy the beach (inc. showers etc) if you pay 2,000 yen per car, and anyone can dine at the restaurants. I’d recommend stopping by for tea and cakes at least once. The hotel is located beside the Bankoku Shinryokan where the 2000 G8 summit took place, there is also an underwater observatory and a glass bottom boat if you’re looking to do …

Visions of Japan – Global Gallery December 8 – 13

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  From December 8th to 13th, I will have a Visions of Japan exhibition at Global Gallery in Plaza House. This will be my biggest exhibition yet, with around 20 A2 size landscapes and 20 A3 size portraits. The gallery will be open from 11am to 7pm and I’ll be there most of the time.  Along with the larger limited edition prints, there will also be a selection of smaller prints for sale. As a bonus, Global Gallery is located next to the Indian restaurant Krishna, so I know I won’t be going hungry.

Discovery Channel Magazine – Yonaguni Underwater Ruins

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A few months ago I took some photos of marine geologist Kimura Masaaki for Discovery Channel Magazine. A couple of my images were used in a recent feature about the “lost civilization” off the coast of Yonaguni. The magazines finally arrived today so I thought I’d share a couple of scans. Can’t post any larger images on the web, and I’ve desaturated the area around my pics, but it gives you the general idea. Hopefully I will visit Yonaguni in the spring to get my own underwater shots. The second image is of a rock Kimura-san found which has a clear “X” carved into the surface. It is, he believes, proof that the ruins are man-made.

F.A.Q.’s Which camera should I buy?

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I’m asked this question just as frequently as What lens should I buy? and it is even harder to answer. If you want a simple point and shoot,  then I’m still a big fan Pentax’s waterproof Optio series. I’ve mentioned them in previous posts, and their latest model is the W90. I also have friends who are very happy with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS2 the Olympus Stylus Tough 8010 and the Sony DSC-TX5. They all do a similar job, they’re waterproof, shockproof and take reasonable pictures / video. The next group to consider are the entry level digital SLRs. Moving from a Point and Shoot to an entry level SLR has several advantages and a few disadvantages. Advantages include a larger sensor, minimal shutter lag, and more creative control. This means you tend to have higher quality images, you are less likely to miss the moment , and you (rather than the camera) can easily adjust things like focus or depth of field. Disadvantages include cost, size, weight and maintenance. Digital SLRs are great, but the best …

Peace Memorial Park

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Peace Memorial Park is located on Mabuni Hill where the Battle of Okinawa came to a close. The Peace Memorial Museum describes life during and after the war, the Peace Memorial Monument contains a 10-meter statue of a person praying, and the Cornerstone of Peace is line after line of granite blocks bearing the names of over 240,000 who died. Japan (Okinawa) 149,193,   Japan (other prefectures) 77,166,   USA 14,009   Republic of Korea 365,    North Korea 82,   UK 82,   Taiwan 34 As with the  Himeyuri Peace Museum this is an important place to visit, especially if you are living on Okinawa.

Kadena Gift Corner – October 23rd

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Next Saturday, October 23rd I will be selling prints and answering photography questions at Kadena Gift Corner  on Kadena Air Base. The Kadena Gift Corner will be open from 10am – 2pm so please stop by if you’re in the area. For those of you who don’t have access to the base, don’t worry. I will also be having an exhibition and print sales in December at Global Gallery in Plaza House. Hope to see some of you on Saturday!

On the bookshelf: Photographing People: Portraits, Fashion, Glamour

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    Photographing People: Portraits, Fashion, Glamour by Roger Hicks is another good book by publishers RotoVision. Along with the expected mix of portraits, fashion and glamour shots there is a nice variation between commercial, editorial and personal work. As the book was published in 2001 nearly all of the cameras used are film, but  digital photographers will still benefit from the lighting diagrams. A used hardback copy is less than 20 bucks on Amazon, and sure to provide some photographic inspiration.

Gyokusendo Cave, Okinawa.

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Gyokusendo Cave is located at the southern end of Okinawa Honto. At 5km in length, it is the second longest limestone cave in Japan. 890 meters of the cave are open to visitors and it’s well worth a trip. Gyokusendo Cave is located in the theme park Okinawa World. Once you leave the cave you can see various traditional Okinawan crafts including pottery, glass blowing, weaving and pickling poisonous snakes in alcohol. This shot was taken with the camera on a tripod and a shutter speed of around 15 seconds. The slow shutter speed means that all the tourists wandering along the walkway have magically disappeared.